Institutions to target Asian equities

FT.com: Institutional investors plan to increase their exposure to Asia in 2010 even though many admit that they lack knowledge and expertise in the region, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Just a fifth of respondents think that the Asian growth story is over-hyped, with a similar minority believing that the region’s recovery from the crisis has been a product of fiscal expansion and is not sustainable.

“An important shift is now gaining momentum, as institutional investors increasingly view Asia as an attractive investment destination and a strategic asset holding,” said Carlo Venes, head of institutional business at Fidelity International, the fund management company which commissioned the survey.

Anthony Bolton, Fidelity’s star fund manager, is set to arrive in Hong Kong this month to establish a £630m ($971m) China-focused investment trust listed in London.

Fear of political instability in the region was the most common factor cited as a barrier to further investment, the survey found.

The next common obstacle, listed by a third of respondents, was a lack of knowledge and expertise about Asian markets. Of that group, however, nearly half plan to increase allocation to China, and a third plan to do the same in India.